Microcomputer technology can assist students in two important phases of basic skills instruction--acquisition and application. Providing interactive practice with immediate feedback in a way that most students find motivating, microcomputers can help students build a solid foundation in such basic skills as punctuation use. In addition, word processing software offers students a holistic method of implementing basic language arts skills instruction. When used with the language experience approach to teaching reading, for example, microcomputers can easily record, store, and print student stories. Both increasing student awareness of the manipulative quality of language and facilitating revision, microcomputers can be used in creative or structured writing activities and instruction in writing technique. Word processing programs can guide sentence combining activities. Although an effective instructional tool, microcomputers can neither teach nor evaluate writing content--teachers and students must work on that together. When selecting word processing programs, teachers should consider the clarity of instructions, the availability of directions, and the functions performed, such as making additions, deletions, insertions, word searches, and text movements. (A list of word processing programs, with their publishers' addresses and machines used are appended.) (MM)